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Fathers pass on four times as many new genetic mutations as mothers – study
Faults in male DNA are a driver for rare childhood diseases, research suggests, with men passing on one new mutation for every eight months of age
Children inherit four times as many new mutations from their fathers than their mothers, according to research that suggests faults in the men’s DNA are a driver for rare childhood diseases.
Researchers studied 14,000 Icelanders and found that men passed on one new mutation for every eight months of age, compared with women who passed on a new mutation for every three years of age.
The figures mean that a child born to 30-year-old parents would, on average, inherit 11 new mutations from the mother, but 45 from the father.
Kari Stefansson, a researcher at the Icelandic genetics company, deCODE, which led the study, said that while new mutations led to variation in the human genome, which is necessary for evolution to happen, “they are also believed to be responsible for the majority of cases of rare diseases in childhood.”
Scientists know from previous research that children born to older fathers have a greater risk of developing certain disorders, including intellectual disabilities, autism and schizophrenia. New mutations are a likely factor, given that more genes are active in the brain than in any other organ in the body.
Fathers pass on four times as many new genetic mutations as mothers – study
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old men marry women of child bearing age, but remember your child may have genetic mutations as male genetics become more unstable as they age.
Faults in male DNA are a driver for rare childhood diseases, research suggests, with men passing on one new mutation for every eight months of age
Children inherit four times as many new mutations from their fathers than their mothers, according to research that suggests faults in the men’s DNA are a driver for rare childhood diseases.
Researchers studied 14,000 Icelanders and found that men passed on one new mutation for every eight months of age, compared with women who passed on a new mutation for every three years of age.
The figures mean that a child born to 30-year-old parents would, on average, inherit 11 new mutations from the mother, but 45 from the father.
Kari Stefansson, a researcher at the Icelandic genetics company, deCODE, which led the study, said that while new mutations led to variation in the human genome, which is necessary for evolution to happen, “they are also believed to be responsible for the majority of cases of rare diseases in childhood.”
Scientists know from previous research that children born to older fathers have a greater risk of developing certain disorders, including intellectual disabilities, autism and schizophrenia. New mutations are a likely factor, given that more genes are active in the brain than in any other organ in the body.
Fathers pass on four times as many new genetic mutations as mothers – study
-------------------------------------------------------
old men marry women of child bearing age, but remember your child may have genetic mutations as male genetics become more unstable as they age.
